Power Unlimit
by Daisuke Haoru
Summary: My second fanfic. 4 years have passed since the Drexler Institute fell at the hands of the Sacred Maidens and their Arcana, but someone escaped the Institute's grasp. Can Kazuki and the Sacred Maidens take it down and stop their plans once again?
1. Escape

_ Author's Note: Hello everyone, it is I, Daisuke Haoru! This is my second fanfic, as based on Arcana Heart. I will use references from other games, due to the fact that Arcana Heart characters have moves similar to other characters from other fighting games. Well this is another attempt so, please do comment! And if you, the readers, like where this is going, then I will continue with this fanfic! Enjoy!_

Chapter 1 - Escape

It's been four years since an incident with planar rifts happened. This almost led to Japan's destruction by what was called a Divine Celestial Weapon. Many people heard that young girls had defeated the Weapon with powerful spirits known as Arcana, though no one knows who they were. These girls had destroyed the Drexler Institute. Or so they thought...

* * *

><p>Deep within the depths of the ocean, there was a hidden laboratory...<p>

"Progress in the project completion?"

"89% complete, doctor."

A scientist by the name of Yuri Shiina looked at a window, behind it, a giant structure. She turned to a water tank.

"What's the status on the subject?"

"No abnormalities. Ether levels are stable."

She walked to the tank. A young man was sleeping in there. She smiled. The young man woke up and looked around.

_Ugh... Where am I?_

He looked at Yuri, and she smiled. But that cold smile gave him chills. She walked away.

_Where are you going? HEY!_

He felt as if he couldn't move, no matter what he did.

_LET ME GO!_

He couldn't say anything either.

…

He stopped struggling.

_Why... Why AM I here? … All I remember hearing before I got caught was something about high ether concentration..._

* * *

><p>[4 Years Ago]<p>

Kazuki Matsuda had been running from the planar rifts that have been opening.

"What's going on? What are these holes?"

There was a strong feeling coming from it.

"Am I being haunted? What did I do?"

He ran until he found a gate to a shrine.

"I think I should be safe here..."

He stopped and rested, but looked around...

"Wait... where am I...? I didn't walk into private property did I?"

"Hello, may I help you with something?"

He turned to look as he heard a girl's voice. A young priestess with long black hair, ribbons tied to her hair and brown eyes looked at him with a smile.

"Waaah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to break in!"

She giggled.

"But anyone who requires our services is welcome here!"

Kazuki was confused.

"Services? … Oh... now that you mention it... I need you to help me."

He looked at her and his focus was lost as he looked at her chest for a few seconds. He snapped out of it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Kazuki Matsuda."

"It's nice to meet you Kazuki. I am Maori Kasuga. And I will help you with anything you need."

She smiled and he blushed.

"Um, yeah, anyway... I need you to help me..."

"What's the problem?"

"Well, call me crazy, but portals have been appearing where I am... always... I don't know how it happened at first, but... am I haunted?"

As soon as he mentioned that, another portal appeared.

"What the... AGAIN!"

Maori looked at Kazuki and pulled him away from it.

"Stay back! It's too dangerous!"

Maori took out a talisman.

"Go, you can't stay here! My sisters and i'll take care of this! Koito! Kouta! Tsuzune!"

Two little girls and an older one appeared.

"But what about YOU!"

"We'll handle it!"

Maori and the sisters looked at the portal, and Kazuki ran. He ran until he tripped, fell and rolled down the stairs.

"Ugh... Ow... I should've seen where I was going..."

He looked up and saw two girls...

"Hey are you okay?"

They helped him up.

"I'm fine, just fell..."

He looked at the two girls, both of which caught his attention. One girl had pink-reddish hair with a heart-shaped curl and the other girl had long blue hair.

"Is something wrong?"

"You guys aren't going to the shrine up here are you?"

"Yeah, we're here to visit Maori!"

The girl with the heart-shaped curl gave a big smile while the blue-haired one looked up. Her face changed to a serious one.

"What's going on over there?"

"No! Don't go! It's too dangerous!"

The two girls looked at Kazuki.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Is Maori alright?"

"You can't go over there!"

"Saki-chan! We gotta see if Maori's in danger!"

"Right! Let's go, Heart!"

The two girls ran as he looked at them. He felt something from them. Some sort of energy that flowed through them. He ran until he arrived at a small park. Exhausted from all the running, he sat and looked around. No one was there. He looked at the ground and looked at his hands.

"What's going on?"

He had that thought on his mind. He looked at his hands until he noticed them glowing blue.

"W-what the...?"

He felt a surge of energy flow through his body.

"What is this?"

The flow stopped. He looked at his hands again.

"That is called ether. You must have the ability to channel it, as I can sense a high concentration of ether coming from you..."

Kazuki looked up and turned to see who said that. He felt a sting from his neck, as if a bee stung him. His vision started to fade as he turned. He saw a figure walking to him. He couldn't see the figure well, as he felt drowsier by the second.

"E... ether...?"

A woman's voice was heard.

"You'll make a fine test subject..."

Kazuki couldn't fight the drowsiness that overcame him. He lost consciousness...

* * *

><p>… <em>What am I supposed to do...?<em>

Kazuki couldn't move. It's been 4 years. He was trapped.

… _What can I do...?_

He closed his eyes...

* * *

><p>Heart Aino had graduated from the all-girls academy she went to, along with her friends.<p>

"It's been four years since we destroyed the Drexler Institute with everyone hasn't it?"

Saki looked at Heart as she walked along with her.

"I wonder whatever happened to that one boy from four years ago?"

Saki looked at Heart, confused.

"Boy?"

"Yeah, that one boy we saw at the Kasuga Shrine."

"Well, we asked Maori what happened with him. She did say there was something 'special' about him..."

"Hmm, well, Par-chan and I wondered where he went, though. He seemed troubled."

Saki giggled.

"Typical you."

Heart looked at Saki with burning eyes.

"The power of love conquers all!"

_Heart. I sensed a flow of ether concentration similar to the boy's._

The girls stopped and Partinias, the Arcana of Love appeared before them.

"Par-chan! We have to look for him!"

_I'm sorry Heart but he seems to be far, and you have to attend to some matters..._

"Don't worry, Partinias, I'll look after Heart. You search for him."

_Thank you Saki-sama._

Partinias faded, and Heart looked upset.

"Aww... I wanted to go!"

"Heart, you heard what Partinias said."

"Yeah, we have to go see Petra, she said she needed to talk to us and the other girls."

The girls headed to the Lagerkvist Manor.

* * *

><p><em>Ugh, no matter what I do, there's no way I can escape...<em>

Kazuki stopped struggling, and the scientist looked at him.

"Soon... you will help us take over this dreaded world... and everyone will witness the revival... of the Drexler Institute."

_She's crazy! Take over? And I'M gonna help her? HELL NO!_

"But in case you fail, I have a Plan B in store..."

Yuri smiled with a cold feeling. Kazuki closed his eyes.

_No, I have to get out of here somehow..._

_Don't worry, I'll help you!_

Kazuki heard a voice. He opened his eyes. This voice sounded sweet and calming.

_Who are you?_

_I am Partinias, the Arcana of Love._

_Please! You have to get me out of here!_

_But you have to listen to what I tell you. Understand?_

_Yes!_

Yuri looked at the object behind the window. An alarm went off.

"Doctor, the ether levels are rising! They're shooting through the roof!"

"What?"

"This never happened before. Why now?"

The computers and the lights went off. Kazuki kept glowing blue and the tanks glass started breaking.

"Get security here right now! We can't lose the subject if he escapes!"

Yuri looked with a tranquilizer gun in hand.

_Partinias it's working!_

_Keep going! You're almost there!_

The tank glass shattered, blowing the shards away, and the cuffs that held him down broke apart. Kazuki fell out. He looked around and Yuri had the tranquilizer gun pointed at him.

"You're not getting away!"

Kazuki raised his hand and with an invisible force, pushed the scientist away.

"How... how did I do that?"

Kazuki stood up and looked around for an exit. It was sealed.

_Partinias, what do I do?_

_Concentrate ether into your hand._

_But I don't know how to._

_Just concentrate. Think as if you want to shoot a fireball with your hands._

_Okay!_

Kazuki saw his hands still radiated a blue light. He put his hands together to form a fireball.

"HADOUKEN!"

He shot and blew the door open.

"Got it! Now to get out of here!"

He ran and saw security guards chasing after him. He started feeling weak.

"Damn, I can't run much."

_Here, this'll help._

Partinias had infused some of her energy onto him. He suddenly felt as if he was dashing without moving his feet.

"Whoa!"

The guards began shooting but missed. Kazuki searched for an exit from the laboratory.

_I know where they go to get out of here. There should be an escape pod somewhere in that room._

_How do you know?_

_The guards, and the scientists. I've heard them and seen them get out of here through some door way. I kinda know this place... They had me here for a long time..._

He arrived in a room and the footsteps of countless security guards were heard closing in on the room.

"Hurry! We can't let him escape!"

Kazuki looked and found an escape pod. He got in as the security guards broke the door down. He finally escaped the hell he lived through.

_Partinias, thank you for helping me._

_Do not worry about it. But we need to get you to safety..._

* * *

><p>Heart and Saki arrived at the Lagerkvist Manor.<p>

"I think we're the first to get here!"

"Nope, You guys are the last!"

Heart and Saki looked around and a figure stood up on the gates. She had a scarf and a headband that made her seem to have ears on top of her head.

"Aka-nee-nee!"

"Heart! Saki! Come on! Petra's waiting!"

The two girls followed Akane into the manor and they were led to an office. Heart and Saki walked in as they saw a lot of other girls sitting in one giant table.

"Wow, everyone's here."

"Heart, let's sit down..."

The two sat down in the last two seats left. A young woman with reddish hair and curled pigtails appeared. She looked at everyone, and turned to look at Heart and Saki.

"Well, is everyone here?"

One of the girls raised her hand.

"Um, I think Lilica's missing..."

Yoriko spoke, as everyone turned to her. Kira smirked.

"Well, she's always the slacker, so we should know by now she's off somewhere dozing off..."

"I think I'll tell her later."

"Petra, just go on with this. What's going on? I have a feeling they're back..."

A serious tone of a voice was heard. Kamui was standing near the door with sword in hand.

"I'll get to the details Ms. Tokinomiya."

Petra pulled down a white screen and a projector appeared in the middle of the table. It showed a picture of what seemed to be a robot.

"4 years ago, we all managed to destroy what was left of the Divine Celestial Weapon created by the Drexler Institute."

Petra pressed a button and the picture changed to that of a young man.

"That same time, portals were being opened. But also someone was opening them by themselves, but we don't know if it was on purpose or by accident."

Everyone looked at the picture. One of the girls recognized him.

"Petra, I've seen him before!"

Maori stood up and looked at the picture clearly.

"There's no mistake. That's him."

"Oh, so you know who this is?"

"Yes. His name is Kazuki Matsuda. If I remember correctly, he sought my help."

Tsuzune stood up.

"We told him to run since another planar rift opened."

Heart stoop up and pointed at the picture.

"He's the one guy I was looking for! Saki and I saw him fall down from the stairs after he left Kasuga Shrine!"

"Heart's right, I was with her, when we saw him. He told us not to go because it was too dangerous."

"And Maori, you told me earlier there was something about him...?"

"Yes, as if there was a lot of ether coming from him..."

"I researched on this young man, and you're right. He apparently was sought out by the Drexler Institute, because of his high levels of ether in his body, but not just that. He can produce it and use it at will..."

"I don't think he does."

All the girls looked at Maori.

"He looked desperate... He seemed scared of what was going on around him..."

"But he's been missing for 4 years now. And Kamui, your assumptions may be correct."

"About what?"

Saki had asked. The doors to the office opened and all the girls turned. Three girls walked in, two with silver hair, the other blonde, but the three shared one thing: crimson eyes. The oldest one spoke.

"It seems you were right, Petra. We may have to deal with the Drexler Institute once again..."

"I joined both Zenia and Lieselotte after I met them in the Airport in Russia..."

"So, Weiss, it seems your communication in social life improved after 4 years."

"Well, with the help of Scharlachrot and Eko, I have improved my speech."

"The Drexler Institute, again? But I thought with Clarice's help we destroyed all the data..."

Petra turned to look at a young woman with short auburn hair.

"Elsa, we destroyed the data alright, but someone must've made a copy of everything before anyone even knew it could've been found or used by anyone else..."

"So then that means..."

Kamui walked to Petra and looked at everyone...

"The Drexler Institute still exists..."

Kira stood up and looked at the picture.

"And there's no doubt about it... Kazuki is their test subject..."

* * *

><p>Kazuki, thanks to Partinias's help, made it to the surface. The escape pod flew out of the water and launched Kazuki out of it. Kazuki began to fall...<p>

"AAAAHHHHHH!"

_Hold on Kazuki!_

Kazuki fell but soon began to move to a certain direction.

"Whoa! Am I flying?"

_Yes you are, now hold on!_

He felt the air hitting him as he was headed to a mansion.

"Partinias, I can't keep my eyes open anymore..."

_Hold on a little longer..._

* * *

><p>The girls felt a presence, and Bhanri, the Arcana of Lightning appeared before them.<p>

_Partinias is coming now, though she has someone with her. Saki, I suggest the girls go out and see..._

"Thanks, Bhanri."

Following Bhanri's advice, all of the girls headed to the Lagerkvist Manor garden. Partinias appeared, with a young man. She headed down and slowly landed with the young man. He stood up and looked at the group of girls, but his vision was blurry. His eyes were closing...

"Where am-"

Kazuki fell on his knees as the girls ran to him.

_Petra, this young man need to be tended to right away. He's weak..._

"Who... are yo-"

He collapsed and fell to the ground. Petra called her servants and with Kira's help, took him to a guest room. All the girls walked in the room and observed the young man.

"So this is the young man the Drexler Institute used as a test subject..."

Kamui looked at him and she looked at the girls.

"You all need to be on guard, as I can tell that the Drexler Institute will hunt him down..."

"RIGHT!"

Yuri looked around as she stood up. The lab was destroyed.

"Kazuki, you damn insect... you won't get away with this... you'll be mine again..."

She took out a cellphone and dialed.

"... The subject has escaped... I will need to get him back... Your orders will be to hunt him down and retrieve the subject... Kill anyone that gets in the way, understood?"

She stood silent and then answered...

"Yes, release them too... they will be of good use... even if it means to capture him dead... bring him to me and dispose of anyone who tries to stop you... the clones do not matter if they live or die..."

She closed the cellphone and looked at the object outside the window.

"His ether will be of good use... but in case this fails, there's always a plan B..."

She took out a glass orb with an eerie blue glow. She stared at it and smirked.

"With this, i'll use it as a last resort..."

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: Well, this concludes Chapter 1! Please do review, i'd like to hear opinions from everyone who reads!<em>


	2. Flow

Chapter 2 – Flow

A bright light blinded Kazuki, and he rose up. He looked around and saw he was somewhere else.

"Augh... my head..."

He suddenly looked around again. He looked at the room.

"Where am I?"

There was a window next to him. He looked outside.

"Am I free...?"

Someone walked in the room and Kazuki turned to see...

"Glad to see you're up."

Kazuki looked at the girl and he stared intently.

"Is something wrong?"

"Who are you...?"

Kazuki kept looking until he recognized her...

"Wait... I remember you..."

Kazuki noticed a feature of her: the heart-shaped curl.

"Yeah, you're that girl I saw outside Kasuga Shrine a few years ago."

"So you still remember huh?"

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's alright."

Kazuki looked outside the window.

"I guess it's been a long while since I've seen the outside..."

Heart got close to Kazuki and placed her hand on his forehead.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"Um, yeah, thanks..."

Heart looked at Kazuki and stared at his eyes.

"Oh, sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Kazuki Matsuda."

"I'm Heart Aino! I'm happy to meet ya."

"So, um, how long was I here?"

Another girl walked in.

"Heart, no wonder you took long."

Heart looked at the other girl and laughed nervously.

"Sorry, but he just woke up."

"Oh... um, hello..."

"Hello Kazuki, I'm Saki Tsuzura..."

"Yeah I remember you too. You were with Miss Aino at the shrine."

Petra and Kamui walked in. Both girls looked at Kazuki as they walked in.

"Um who are you guys?"

"We saw you coming with Partinias a few days ago. You were weak..."

Petra spoke as she walked to him. He soon realized that he was in danger with them.

"You guys have to let me go now!"

"Why?"

"You guys have to! You're in danger!"

Kazuki got up but was being held down by Saki and Kamui.

"Calm down! Kazuki, what do you mean we're in danger?"

"I can't be here! She's gonna come hunt me down!"

"'She'?"

Kazuki calmed down a bit.

"You guys have to hear me out."

Kazuki got up but he felt he was losing balance. Saki helped him walk to the office. Petra and the girls sat down.

"Okay, so what's going on?"

Kazuki sat down ad he looked at the girls.

"There's a scientist that's after me. Her name is Yuri Shiina. She plans to use me for some sort of weapon."

"Did you say Yuri Shiina?"

"Yeah, she captured me 4 years ago..."

"I found her name in the files..."

Petra took out a PDA, and looked at the files.

"Yes, she's in the files."

"Well, she most likely sent someone to hunt me down. But I know she won't give up in hunting me down until she has me. Just because of my ether control..."

"We know you can produce it, but you never learned how to handle it..."

"Yeah, Yuri had me in a machine that extracted ether out of my body, but I don't know how I can handle it without the machine."

"That explains why planar rifts opened up wherever you were."

Kazuki looked at the door. He looked at the girl he remembered meeting the first time.

"Ah Maori!"

Maori looked at the young man.

"Kazuki. It's good to see you are well."

"Well I'm not really in top health yet."

Maori walked and sat next to him.

"You, Kazuki, have an extreme amount of ether that it matches that of an Arcana."

"But the only way I can use it is how Partinias showed me."

Heart looked at Kazuki.

"Par-chan taught you?"

"Yeah, while trying to get out of the lab we were in."

Suddenly, one of Petra's maids came in, panicking.

"Miss Petra! There's an intruder in the garden..."

"An intruder?"

"Yes, but the strange part is that the intruder looks like... Master Kazuki..."

Kazuki looked and stood up. Heart and the girls looked at Kazuki.

"Let's go, girls!"

Petra and the others left out to the gardens. A figure was seen walking to the doors slowly.

"Is that what Rosa said it was?"

A figure of what seemed to be Kazuki walked with a snarl on his face. A faint glow was emanating from the being. He wore a gauntlet and aimed it at the girls. Petra, with her dual guns at hand, readied them with Ether Charges. Kazuki had walked outside and saw a reflection of himself...

"What the...?"

The mirror image began to run to the group. Petra began shooting her guns. The mirror image dodged the ether shots with extreme ability. Heart ran to it and began her flurry of attacks, with Saki joining in.

"Shit... I gotta help them..."

Kazuki ran but was stopped by Kamui's blade.

"You're still weak..."

"But I have to-"

"You're no match right now..."

Kamui saw the mirror image move swiftly as Heart Saki and Petra kept their flurry of attacks. The clone began to shoot darts at the girls from the gauntlet. The darts struck the three girls but kept on raining down their attacks at the clone. Saki landed a high kick, sending the clone in the air, as Petra shot an Ether Blast, knocking him down. The clone bounced from the ground and Heart appeared behind him.

"HERE I GO!"

Heart pulled her arm back and launched it to the clone's back.

"Doka~n!*"

An upward punching motion was seen as the clone flew up, but recovered and grabbed Heart's arm, swinging her to Saki, knocking her down.

"HEART! SAKI!"

Kazuki looked as the two girls were knocked down. Petra charged her guns and shot a volley of ether blasts at the clone. It got struck as Petra continuously shot with all the ether her guns stored. Heart, Saki and Petra soon began feeling weak.

"I can't stand up...!"

"Heart, we can't go on..."

Petra fell on her knees. The exhaustion began to kick in even more.

"Kamui, don't... let him... get to... you..."

The clone turned to Kamui and Kazuki. Kamui stood in her stance, ready to strike. The clone began to dash to Kamui. With eyes closed, Kamui sensed the proximity of the clone and opened her eyes.

"Habaki..."

Kamui drew out her sword and placed it back in its sheath in a split second. A bluish cross formed in front of her, striking the clone and knocking it down. It growled with agony as the pain struck it. Kamui and Kazuki ran to the three girls. Kazuki went to Heart and Saki as Kamui went to Petra. Kazuki picked up Heart.

"Come on. Work with me here..."

"I... I can't keep... my eyes open..."

Kazuki looked at Saki, asleep.

"Damn, the tranquilizers dart got to them."

Kamui walked to Saki as Kazuki lifted Heart from the floor.

"Kamui, we gotta get them inside."

"We can't wast—NGH!"

Kamui showed a sign of slight pain as she grabbed her right arm. She plucked a needle from her arm.

"Dammit!"

Kazuki looked behind Kamui. The clone was up, with a bloody scar on its chest.

"Kazuki..."

Kamui fell to her knees. Kazuki looked as the clone began to limp to Kazuki, with the gauntlet aimed at him. Kazuki set Heart down. The clone began to glow and the scar it had on its chest disappeared. It was healing.

"What?"

The clone dashed at Kazuki. Time had stopped and he thought of what to do as he saw how slow the clone was approaching.

"Concentrate..."

Kazuki began to think, and remembered what Partinias told him. Time returned to normal, as he saw the clone jump in the air, ready to deliver a blow to Kazuki. He put his hands together next to him and a flow of ether formed in his hands.

"TAKE THIS!"

He shot the energy straight at the clone as a beam.

"HAAADOOOOUUUKEEENNNN!"

The massive beam had trapped the clone as it was burning in its flow. Kazuki looked as the burning energy consumed the clone until it left nothing behind. Kazuki fell to his knees.

"Damn... I think I used too much energy... but what the hell was that..."

A cloud of smoke appeared out of nowhere. A young girl with a scarf covering half her face appeared. She looked at Kamui on the ground. She then glared at Kazuki.

"Did you do this to Master Kamui?"

Kazuki suddenly began to feel uncomfortable.

"Um, no, you got it wrong!"

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

"BUT I DID'NT DO ANYTHING!"

"Konoha, stop!"

The young kunoichi stopped in her tracks. She turned to Kamui and walked to her.

"He didn't do... anything... I was... caught off guard..."

Kamui, with semi-closed eyes, looked at Kazuki.

"You did... well..."

Kamui lost consciousness. Konoha picked Kamui up and carried her inside the mansion. Kazuki recovered enough strength and carried Heart while both of Petra's maids carried Saki and Petra inside. Hours passed by and the unconscious girls woke up. Kazuki put on clothes that were provided by Petra: A long-sleeved shirt, a black leather hooded jacket, cargo jeans, and a pair of sneakers. He walked to Petra's office. Petra looked at Kazuki as he walked in.

"Look, Petra... about earlier..."

"It's alright. I'm guessing you didn't know about these clones...?"

"... No, but we need to get rid of them..."

"We might as well make a plan to get rid of the Drexler Institute..."

"I think i'll handle that myself..."

"There's absolutely no way you can handle them on your own. We've seen what they're capable of..."

One of Petra's maids walked in.

"Lady Petra, you have to take a look at the television."

Petra nodded and pressed a button on her desk. Kazuki turned to a wall that soon revealed a TV. It turned on and the news showed.

_This is Hyodou reporting from Okinawa. There have been numerous cases in less than 3 hours of a young man who appears to be raiding homes to look for someone. This individual seems to be moving from place to place, searching all of Japan, though there have been reports of young women fending off this mysterious young man._

Kazuki knew it was his clones attacking and raiding Japan.

"Dammit! Petra, we have to do something!"

"Right."

Petra walked to Kazuki and gave him a cell phone.

"As stubborn as you may be, go on, but if you're in trouble, don't hesitate to call..."

Kazuki looked at his hand, and then looked at Petra. He nodded and Petra changed her clothes. She equipped her guns and the two headed out of the mansion. As they reached the doors, Kazuki stopped.

"Petra, I'm going to head east, you head west!"

Petra nodded. She headed west as Kazuki headed east.

"Damn... Yuri's lost her mind... What the hell's her problem making clones out of me?"

Kazuki ran until he reached a small park. He looked around and felt a presence.

"Who's there?"

He began looking around and felt as if something or someone was watching him...

_ Author's Note: This concludes Chapter 2! Well, it's coming out pretty good. And yes, like I said, i'd be using references from other games, most notably Street Fighter. And well, pretty much, wait for Chapter 3. Things will start getting interesting! As always I have to say it or I get in trouble with the owners. I do NOT own anything from Arcana Heart or Street Fighter._

_*It's what Heart says when she performs her Heartful Punch, and if some of you don't know what it is, it's basically a Shoryuken._


	3. Into The Dark

_Author's Note: This is Chapter 3! Well this is gonna be my OC's first battle. Do expect a lot of Street Fighter in this one. Take note whatever terms that have an asterisk will explain what the term or terms I use mean. And also, I do not condone violence towards women, but it's Arcana Heart, it's an awesome fighting game, and the Sacred Maidens won't go easy on Kazuki at all so do enjoy a girl beating down a guy lol. HERE WE GO!_

Chapter 3 – Into the Dark

Kazuki felt a a strange presence in the park. It was late night and he had to do something about the clones that resemble him.

"Who's there?"

No response. He felt as if someone, or rather _something _is moving around the park.

"Ngh... Show yourself!"

He kept looking around and felt heavy as if whatever was in the park was getting closer. Kazuki began to focus on his ether and his hands began glowing with blue ether. He saw a shadow move from one tree to another.

"GODDAMMIT SHOW YOURSELF!"

"As you wish..."

Kazuki heard a voice. He turned to see where it came from. He felt something hard hit him in the face. He flew in the air and landed with a harsh thud. He got up and looked at a young girl with a marionette, missing its legs. Though he looked and rubbed his cheek from the pain, he noticed something from the doll: it twitched, as if it wanted to move. The young girl opened her eyes and Kazuki noticed her eyes are very different from anyone else's color. Cold, half-opened crimson eyes looked at Kazuki.

"So... you're trying to hunt down the test subject, are you...?"

As she said that, Kazuki froze in fear as he noticed something odd about her shadow: It grew in size.

"Wait, hold on. You got i-"

"Silence. You will not get any mercy from me..."

Her shadow popped out of the ground and then it took its own form.

"Master Achenbach... What should I do with this weakling...?"

Kazuki looked on and froze as the shadow looked at him.

_Achenbach... why does it sound familiar...?_

"Toy with him. Weaken him until he's down to his last breath..."

"Ngh... But I'm not a clone!"

Kazuki prepared himself and the girl began to walk toward him as the shadow returned to the ground and "swam" to Kazuki. He jumped back and the shadow disappeared. Kazuki looked and saw that the doll the young girl was holding was on the ground, moving and looking at him with red, murderous eyes.

"... Fine, you won't believe I'm not a clone, then maybe I'll have to show you..."

"Elfriede..."

With the girl's hand pointing at Kazuki, the doll she called Elfriede lunged itself at him. Kazuki prepared a fist but froze in place. He looked down and the shadow was coiled on his body, preventing him from moving. Elfriede headbutted Kazuki and the shadow let him go, with Kazuki flying from where he was standing. He landed and rolled. He coughed a bit and looked at the girl. She kept walking to Kazuki and Elfriede moved back to the girl. Kazuki felt something hit him from the ground, sending him up into the air. The girl looked at Kazuki as he was in the air.

"Gier... do it..."

The shadow she called Gier came out with sharp teeth about to bite down on him, but Kazuki quickly regained his posture and prepared a counterattack.

"HADOUKEN!"

The fireball struck Gier and it sunk back in to the ground. Kazuki landed safely and looked at the girl. She sent Elfriede after Kazuki but...

"TATSUMAKI!"

He jumped in the air and spun with the impact of the kick sending Elfriede back to the girl. The girl opened the case she carried in time and the doll safely made it in. Kazuki ran to the girl and prepared a fist but she dodged the attack and opened the box once more.

"Betrug's Red Tears..."

Kazuki, with his guard down, felt burning pain as Elfriede fiercely clawed him in the gut.

"GAAAH!"

Hit after hit, Kazuki showed signs of pain and the last hit was excruciating pain as he was sent flying back. The doll returned to its case. He rolled, clenched his gut in pain, and tried to stand up again.

"Death-inviting Gebell..."

The girl swung the case and Elfriede flew to Kazuki, gripping him tightly, with no way of moving. The girl walked to Kazuki and stood in front of him, grabbing him by his hair.

"I may be 14, but I'm not as innocent as I seem."

"Ngh... Now I know who you are... you're... the Crimson-Eyed Criminal... Lieselotte Achenbach..."

With the name she heard, she kicked him in the face with the boots she wore.

"HOW WOULD SOMETHING LIKE YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"

Lieselotte walked to Kazuki and grabbed him fiercely by his hair, picking him up.

"You looked familiar. Though, you're not—AUGH!"

"NOT WHAT? THE SAME PERSON?"

She pulled his hair more. Elfriede let him go and Lieselotte kicked him in the chest. He coughed up blood. She noticed the blood land on her frilled dress and looked at Kazuki.

"I am Lieselotte Achenbach... I will not let you live for long. Consider this your last moment in Earth and that is the last name you'll hear... Gier..."

Gier began constricting Kazuki and Lieselotte let him go. Elfriede held a blade Lieselotte gave it looked at Kazuki.

"Goodbye..."

Lieselotte swung Elfriede and it flew toward Kazuki, with Gier opening a hole in itself to reveal a spot: his heart. Kazuki panicked and a sudden burst of ether emanated out of him. The impact of the burst made Gier release him and Elfriede sent flying back. Lieselotte watched as Kazuki stood up.

"Alright... you say this is my last moment... well..."

Kazuki clenched his fist tightly and with anger, looked at Lieselotte.

"I'm not going down with a fight..."

He dashed at Lieselotte while she called her doll out to fight. Kazuki jumped over the doll, dodging the doll's attack and about to hit Lieselotte. She countered with Elfriede's case. The impact of the case and the fist made them jump back a bit and Kazuki jumped forward.

"RYUSOKYAKU*!"

Kazuki's overhead heel kick was blocked by Lieselotte's umbrella, but the umbrella bent and she barely missed the kick. He sensed something behind him. The doll had jumped in the air and Kazuki punched the doll's face. The doll flew back, but Kazuki grabbed one of its arms and swung it to Lieselotte. She grabbed the doll and with it, jumped in the air. Kazuki felt as if he was sinking into the ground. He noticed Gier was swallowing him. He shot a Hadouken to the ground, launching him from the floor and causing it to disappear on to the ground once again. He then noticed 4 dark blue spheres floating around him and Lieselotte was behind him. She pointed at him and suddenly felt something hit his back. It was Elfriede attacking him from the spots where the spheres were placed.

"THAT'S IT!"

Kazuki turned and Elfriede was headed to him. He dodged the doll and grabbed one of its arms. He swung and slammed it to the ground. Lieselotte watched as the doll broke to pieces. Lieselotte ran to Kazuki and swung her case at Kazuki...

"Metsu..."

He ducked and she missed, open for his attack. He struck her gut and she coughed.

_I didn't want to do this but you left me no other choice..._

His other fist struck her jaw.

"SHORYUKEN!"

His uppercut made him jump in the air and and she flew upward. Kazuki noticed she flew way too high in the air and she started falling. He ran and, in time, caught her. He stood up and looked at the girl's crimson eyes. She looked at him.

"Why... would you save... me...? You're nothing... but a c-"

"You really think a clone would save you?"

She looked at Kazuki. She realized she attacked the wrong person. Her eyes started filling with tears.

"Look, I'm sorry if I did that to you, but, um, you really weren't listening to me..."

Lieselotte cried, which was awkward for Kazuki, seeing how it's a 14-year-old girl crying over a big misunderstanding that almost killed him. For someone known worldwide as the Crimson-Eyed Criminal, it was awkward.

"Um, really, don't cry..." (_I'm pretty lost..._)

"But I didn't know it was you..."

Kazuki put Lieselotte on the ground as she stood up. She walked to the pieces of Elfriede and somehow managed to get it back together. She called it back to the case and she looked at Kazuki.

"I'm sorry..."

Lieselotte began to walk away...

"Wait!"

She stopped. Something inside of her told her to stop. Was this boy making her feel something she hasn't felt in a long while? She still stopped and looked at Kazuki. He walked to her and she turned.

"Look, Lieselotte. I know it was a mistake and I didn't want to do that but..."

Kazuki placed his hand on her forehead.

"Let's hope this works..."

He concentrated and Lieselotte suddenly felt less pain every second, as if he was healing her. Lieselotte looked at Kazuki as he glowed with the ether flow. Something about him made her feel comfortable. But why would he do this to someone as cold-hearted as her? Why is she healing her? Does she deserve this? She closed her eyes and a vague memory of a young woman appeared before her. She felt the same comfort she felt when the young woman smiled at her. Kazuki stopped and he stood up. He seemed happy, even though the girl in front of him was about to kill him.

"Are you feeling better?"

Lieselotte looked at him and her eyes seemed to have been lost in his. He patted her head. Lieselotte felt as if something in her heart opened. The pat on her head reminded her of her sister.

"I think you'll be fine on your own."

Kazuki turned around and began to limp away, though to the nearest bench to rest. Lieselotte looked down as the words "on your own" echoed in her mind.

"Don't go!"

He stopped and turned to look at Lieselotte. She walked and looked at Kazuki. She then did something she hasn't done ever since she lost those who were close to her.

"A hug..."

Kazuki felt weirder by the second, and he heard Lieselotte say something he was shocked about.

"Brother..."

Kazuki looked at Lieselotte and she looked at him. Her eyes were filled with tears. Kazuki patted her head and she seemed to feel really comfortable. The "brother-sister" moment ended as an entity appeared. Lieselotte looked at the entity. Kazuki stood in front of Lieselotte.

"Stay back. I'll handle this myself..."

Lieselotte looked as Kazuki ran to the entity that looked just like him. He attacked the entity. The entity then assaulted Kazuki with his own flurry of attacks and Kazuki blocked.

_Ugh... I think the healing wore me down a bit... But I gotta fight this thing!_

Kazuki shot a Hadouken and the clone took it, with it flying back. Kazuki ran and punched it down to the ground. The clone kicked him off and punched him in mid-air.

"UGH!"

Kazuki felt the impact of the ground. The clone aimed the gauntlet and shot the tranquilizer needle at Kazuki. He rolled out of the way and the needle missed. The clone grabbed Kazuki by the leg, pulled him, and punched his gut fiercely. Kazuki recovered from the hit, kicked and performed an uppercut on his opponent. The clone recovered from the attack and landed a few feet away. Kazuki fell to his knees, weakened from the assault from the clone. Lieselotte looked as the clone approached him. She began to run to Kazuki, but he signaled her to run away. She stopped and looked. The clone grabbed Kazuki by the neck and prepared his gauntlet to shoot a tranquilizer needle. Lieselotte looked and it brought a memory of her family dying in front of her...

"NOOOO!"

The clone shot a needle but something intercepted. Elfriede took the needle and Lieselotte summoned Gier. It hid underground and appeared on the clone, binding him and causing him to let go of Kazuki. He fell and looked as the clone struggled to get out of Gier's grip. Lieselotte sent out Elfriede and attacked the clone relentlessly. Kazuki watched as the clone howled and roared in pain. He managed to stand up and use some of his ether to heal himself. Lieselotte stopped and Gier let the clone go. It fell to its knees and cringed in pain.

"Lieselotte!"

She looked and Kazuki jumped in the air. He powered his fist with ether and punched the ground, with the clone bouncing from the ground. Lieselotte flicked her wrist up and Gier's gaping mouth swallowed the clone into the shadows. Kazuki fell to his knees and looked at Lieselotte. She walked to him and looked at him. She kneeled and gave him another hug...

_Man this is really awkward... but I guess I can't blame her... she's pretty young to be alone... aside from that, she's been alone for a really long time..._

Kazuki began comforting her and Lieselotte looked at Kazuki once more.

"You okay now?"

Lieselotte gave no answer. She just held him and she felt something deep inside her open up. She let go and the two stood up.

"Look, I have to go. I'm a little weak but I'll manage on my own."

"..."

Kazuki looked at her and saw that sadness overcame her. Lieselotte looked down and Kazuki walked up to her. He stretched out his hand to her.

"Let's go... together... like that, you won't have to be alone."

Kazuki smiled. Lieselotte heard the words and she looked at him. She looked at his hand and the smile he gave her. She began to reach for his hand, though she approached slowly, nervously. She felt her hand reach his and a sudden warmth overcame her. She looked at Kazuki and she smiled, something she hasn't done in a long time. The two walked and headed to the Lagerkvist Manor. She began feeling drowsy. Kazuki looked at a tired Lieselotte.

"We're almost there... I know you're tired."

Kazuki picked up Lieselotte and carried her on his back. She fell asleep and Kazuki began to think about the moment the two had.

_I guess it can't be that bad to be her big brother. After all, I'm an only child. I feel bad for Lieselotte to not have any familiars. She must be pretty lonely, and I guess i'll just be her brother. We may not be related by blood but it'll be fine... I guess..._

Kazuki arrived and Rosa opened the doors. She led Kazuki to a guest room and put Lieselotte on to a bed. He got some covers and put them on her. He began to walk away, but he heard Lieselotte mumble something in her sleep. He turned and looked at her.

"... Brother..."

He smiled and walked out of the door. Kazuki sat down and rested. A half hour went by and he got up. He walked out of the mansion and took out the cellphone Petra provided him. He headed to the next location.

Heart arrived at the Sapporo Clock Tower.

"Hmm, I hope I don't beat up Kazuki by accident."

She looked around and walked until she saw someone.

"Wait, is that him?"

She approached the person on the phone. Heart ran to the person.

"Hey! Kazuki-kun!"

It was indeed Kazuki. He turned and put the cellphone away. He looked at Heart.

"Are you hunting for the clones too?"

He smirked and attacked her. Heart dodged and looked at him with a serious face.

"What was that for?"

"HEART! GET AWAY!"

The real Kazuki arrived. Heart looked at him and then turned to the false one.

"I thought that was you!"

"Now you know."

"Well, looks like my target came here on his own..."

Kazuki and Heart looked as the false one talked.

"You can talk?"

"What are you two, idiots? Of course I can... And my objective to capture you just got easier."

Kazuki prepared himself and Heart was ready. The false one posed into his fighting stance and ether began to flow out of him.

"Let's see what you two are capable of..."

"Heart, you ready?"

"I've always been ready!"

The false Kazuki began to change in form. His body mass grew and the two looked on as he finished.

"Thanks to you, Kazuki, this ether gives me the strength I need. I may be going against Yuri's orders, but what gives...? I'll have a lot of fun torturing you and your girlfriend..."

"S-she's not my girlfriend!"

Kazuki nervously shook his head and turned to look at Heart. She blushed at the thought, but shook her head and looked as the clone prepared his assault. An intense battle is going to take place at the Sapporo Clock Tower...

_End Note: This ends Chapter 3, and well, this is how my imagination worked on Lieselotte's somewhat of a background story, um, or something like that. Anyway, do review please, I'd like some feedback from the readers :)_

_ I do not own anything related to Arcana Heart, Street Fighter, EXAMU, ARC SYSTEM WORKS or CAPCOM. I really hate saying this a lot (who doesn't?) but we don't wanna get in trouble with the creators or publishers, now do we?_

_*one of Evil Ryu's moves in SSFIV Arcade Edition: 41236+K (Half Circle Forward + Any Kick Button)_


	4. Fight and Away

_Author's Note: Chapter 4 begins here! Well, this chapter's title is a reference to and was written while listening to a certain track: Fight and Away from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Re:coded. For any of you that read this and played either games, you guys should know what track is it. If not, look it up on YouTube and you'll know the track :). Well, let's begin!_

Chapter 4 – Fight and Away

Night has fallen in Japan. The Sapporo Clock Tower has its lights dimmed to three people: Kazuki, Heart and an entity that looks just like Kazuki, but something was off about the clone.

"Now... time to bring out some of this power..."

Ether started to flow out of the clone and his body began growing in mass. A buffed up Kazuki clone was standing in front of them.

"Heart, let's go!"

"Yeah!"

Kazuki and Heart ran to opposite sides and Kazuki jumped in the air. Heart did the same and put her hands together. A pink circle formed and a pink ball of light came out of it, as Kazuki fired a Hadouken towards their opponent. The clone took the hits but nothing had happened. The clone grabbed Kazuki and swung him up, while Heart backed away and flew at the clone. She landed and winded up her arm. She lunged forward and her punch made the clone stagger a bit. Kazuki retaliated in midair and began to dive toward the clone. It saw Kazuki and raised his fist in the air, stopping the dive kick. Heart jumped and kicked the clone in the face, flinching a bit and Kazuki landed safely.

"Dammit! Our punches aren't enough."

"What do we do?"

"We go all out..."

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine. Partinias should help you on this. I'll try using my ether a lot more."

Kazuki had used up a lot of ether against Lieselotte, but with the time he had to rest, he felt sure he regained some back.

_The machine I was stuck on must've drained a lot of ether from me. Maybe that's why I get weak a lot. I'll give this a shot._

"Let's go!"

Kazuki began to run to the clone. It prepared a fist and launched it at Kazuki, but barely missed and it hit the ground. Kazuki jumped and the clone looked as Kazuki got near him.

"TATSUMAKI!"

Kazuki spun and hit the clone several times with his spinning kick. Heart followed with her uppercut and turned in midair, releasing a beam, hitting the clone. It staggered and fell on one knee. The clone raised its arm and swung at the two, with them dodging, but the ether produced a beam that hit the two. Heart retaliated and landed safely, but Kazuki landed with a harsh thud. He got up and looked as he and Heart were on opposite sides. The clone grabbed Heart and threw her across. Heart quickly regained her balance and Kazuki ran to the clone. He prepared a fist, but the clone grabbed the clenched up hand and began to lift Kazuki from the ground, applying pressure to the fist. Kazuki winced in pain, and Heart looked as the clone lifted him. Heart put her hands together and fired a pink beam from her hands. The clone let go of Kazuki and he landed on his feet. He put his hands together.

"SHINKUU...!"

The clone staggered back and with its guard down, Kazuki fired.

"HADOUKEN!"

The flow of the ether hit the clone, with it backing away. The impact caused a bit of a draft. Dust covered the clone as Heart and Kazuki looked.

"I guess that did it..."

Heart and Kazuki let out a sigh of relief.

"Think again!"

A fireball came out of the dust cloud and headed towards Heart. Kazuki jumped in front of it and blocked it, with it burning the jacket sleeve. Kazuki fell on one knee.

"Kazuki-kun! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. At least it didn't get you."

The clone dashed to the two and punched Kazuki in the gut. He coughed up blood and he flew, slamming against a wall. He grabbed Heart and prepared to slam her down, but stopped. He looked at Heart and examined her body. Kazuki looked as Heart tried to escape his grip. The clone had other intentions for Heart.

"Well... I guess I should have some fun with you..."

"Let me... go...!"

Kazuki got up and ran to the clone.

"Get your hands off of her, ya damn creep!"

Kazuki jumped and swung his fist towards the clone, but it slapped him back to the wall and Heart managed to escape its grip. She kicked him and jumped back. She ran to Kazuki, but it managed to grab her again. Kazuki tried to stand up and looked as Heart struggled again. She fended the clone off as a surge of power made the clone back off. She landed and jumped back a bit. Exhaustion began to show on Heart. Kazuki ran to her and pulled her away.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine..."

"Stay here, I'll try to fend him off..."

Kazuki looked on as the clone came closer. He ran to the clone and began his flurry of punches and kicks. The clone took the hits and stopped Kazuki in midair, grabbing his leg and punched his gut. Kazuki fell with a harsh thud and clenched his gut in pain. Heart stood up and fired another beam to the clone. It made him stagger.

"It's not working!"

Kazuki stood up and walked to Heart, holding his gut in pain.

"You really think all those little lights of yours are gonna work?"

The clone popped its chest forward, forming and releasing another fireball. Heart made a shield appear and the fireball hit it. The impact made Heart collapse to her knees. She fell but Kazuki caught her before she hit the ground. He looked at the clone and noticed something. The clone shot another one and Kazuki stood in front of it, but this time, countered with his own fireball. He noticed something: The amount of ether he used on the fireball seemed to have disappeared from its body.

"I wonder..."

Kazuki used some of his ether flow to heal some of the pain and dashed at his foe. He began his flurry of attacks once again and he backed off. The clone tried to attack him but missed. It shot a fireball at Kazuki, which also missed. The assault of fireballs kept going as the clone finally began to show signs of exhaustion. Kazuki jumped and dove towards the clone. The impact of the kick he delivered managed to slam the clone down to the ground. He landed and ran to Heart.

"You fool, you won't get away with that."

There was no time to block the incoming attack and the clone prepared to slam itself onto the two. Kazuki closed his eyes and held Heart tight. He waited for the impact to happen, but he opened his eyes and someone was in front of them. A young girl was in front floating on what seemed to be a giant water bubble. A giant arm was protruding from the water bubble.

"Are you two alright?"

Kazuki looked and nodded as this young girl looked and the arm that came from the bubble pushed the clone.

"Geez, you guys cannot handle something like this the way you are."

The girl looked at the muscled-massed clone.

"Let's see what you're made of. I want to see if you're even a match for me."

The clone ran to the girl and a foot came out of the bubble, kicking the clone with such force that it knocked him down. The clone stood up and ran to the girl again and the two locked hands, pushing each other. A foot came out again and kicked the clone, knocking it on its knees. The girl grabbed the clone, jumped in the air and slammed him to the ground with a piledriver. It got up in pain.

"Ugh... how can... a little girl like you do that...?"

"It's called a brain, something that you wouldn't have. The genius behind this is something you wouldn't understand."

"Are you calling me dumb?"

The clone began to emanate ether from his body. The girl stretched out her arm.

"SUMMONING CIRCLE: NIPTRA!"

A circle appeared below her and a spirit appeared in the form of a giant fish. It swallowed everyone and everything seemed to turn into a shade of deep blue, as if they were in water. Kazuki saw that the clone moved slowly, but the girl moved normally. The clone seemed struggle with moving. The girl got in front of the opponent.

"HERE I GO!"

The bubble the girl was in grabbed the clone.

"KIRA...!"

She slammed the clone on its back.

"ARMAGEDDON...!"

She slammed the clone forward with a piledriver. She raised the clone up in the air and jumped high. She began her descent while locking the opponent on its legs.

"BUSTER!"

The impact of the lock broke the clone's back and fell to the ground. Heart had opened her eyes and looked at Kazuki.

"Are you okay?"

Heart nodded as she looked at the clone in pain.

"I doubt you'll even get up."

"Wow..."

The girl turned to them.

"I'm Kazuki. I know it's kinda weird right now, but kinda rude not to introduce myself."

"Don't worry. I'm Kira Daidohji, world's youngest science prodigy."

"No wonder you looked familiar."

"You fools... this is just the beginning..."

The three turned to the broken clone. It groaned and struggled to get up. Giant amounts of ether began flowing out of the clone. It absorbed them, but changes began to happen. Kira, Heart and Kazuki began to step back as the clone began to change form. Its body began to deform and slowly, it was growing in size. The clone had been turned into something unrecognizable.

"... We gotta take it down..."

Heart and Kira nodded. The beast roared and the three ran to it. Kazuki jumped on its back and jumped again, diving towards the head for a kick. Kira dashed to one of its legs, dodging the beast's attacks, and, with great force, kicked its front leg, causing it to collapse. Heart followed Kazuki and the two began diving down, and the hits had made the beast's head slam fiercely on the ground. The three backed away and Kazuki ran to it again. The flurry of punches and kicks had picked up the giant beast. His fists and feet began glowing blue, adding more power to his hits and with an uppercut, sent the beast up in the air.

"HEART!"

"HERE I GO!"

She followed with her flurry of attacks. Every hit seemed to damage the beast even more, as signs of pain kept showing on the beast's face. Heart had sent the beast down with a Ribbon Beam*.

"KIRA!"

Kira had punched the beast with enough force to slam it to the ground and create a crater. The beast stood on its four legs and charged at Kazuki. The two girls looked on as the claw it raised was about to strike the three. Kazuki raised his fist as it stopped the claw from landing. His fist glowed brightly and he pushed the claw away. The beast stumbled and fell. Something caught everyone's eye: a glowing spot on the beast's underbelly. The beast stood up and growled. Ether flow had shown once again and a set of arms grew out.

"Is a lot of ether absorption that dangerous for a person?"

"Apparently so. Any human can be affected with deformations and loss of sanity and reason when someone absorbs too much ether. Very much like this..."

The beast grew some sort of horns along with tusks. A loud roar shook the entire place and it charged at the three. Kira got in front and grabbed the horns. Kazuki and Heart got under the beast's jaw and...

"SHORYUKEN!"

"Doka~n!"

Their uppercuts caused the beast to back off, but grabbed both Kazuki and Heart. It tossed Heart at Kira and the two collided. The beast slammed Kazuki to the ground and he coughed up blood. It raised a claw but...

"SUMMONING CIRCLE: PARTINIAS!"

The beast heard and Heart had a summoning circle under her. Behind her, Partinias appeared, with an energy ball. The beast looked and Partinias threw the energy ball at the beast. It slowly approached the beast and Kazuki used an burst of ether energy to get the beast's claw to release him. Kazuki dodge rolled out of the way and the beast took the hit. It was knocked out on its back and the three took the opportunity to land the final blow.

"Kira, launch us up into the air, NOW!"

Kira's water bubble formed two arms and Kazuki and Heart got on one arm each.

"GO!"

She launched the two into the air and they prepared their attacks. The two put their hands together.

"SHINKUU...!"

Heart formed a circle and an energy burst was ready to be fired.

"HADOUKEN!"

A giant burst of energy fired from Kazuki's hands as another burst of energy fired from Heart's hands. The streams of energy twisted with each other and combined. The blast had hit the glowing spot on the beast. Heart and Kazuki landed and jumped back. The beast began glowing brightly and a sudden explosion covered the entire area with dust. The three waited until the dust cleared and nothing was left of the beast but a blue ball of light. Kazuki carefully approached it.

"Wait, Kazuki-kun, are you sure you wanna get near that?"

He kept walking to it. He stopped and the ball of light suddenly began to spin around him. He felt a surge of energy as the ball was absorbed by his body. Heart and Kira walked to him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but something about that made me feel like I got something back."

Kazuki looked at his hands and he wondered about what that meant. His phone rang and he answered it.

"Petra?"

"Wrong... remember me...?"

Kazuki opened his eyes wide. Heart and Kira looked as he froze in fear. The voice sounded familiar to him.

"You can't be..."

"That's right... it's me... Yuri..."

His fear turned to anger. He gripped his phone tightly.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT WITH ME?"

"You know what I want. Now be a good boy and come back to me..."

"Like hell I will..."

"Unless you want those precious little girls helping you DIE..."

"WHAT?"

"You know those clones are just the beginning..."

"What the hell are you talking about...?"

"Let's just say, something more is going to all of you... And I hope you survive..."

"I'm not going back to you!"

"Like if you have a choice..."

The line was cut off. Kazuki closed the phone and placed it back in his pocket. He raised his fist in anger, and slammed it to the ground.

"W-what's wrong?"

"Damn Yuri! She won't let me get away..."

"What did she say...?"

"Those clones aren't going to be the only things we're going to fight..."

Heart looked and another clone appeared. Kazuki looked in anger and he stood up, walking to it.

"Metsu..."

The clone approached him but was soon stopped in its tracks as it felt excruciating pain in its gut. The second hit landed on the clone's jaw and a loud crack was heard. Heart and Kira looked in horror as every hit sounded as if it were to kill someone.

"UUUUOOOOOHHHH!"

He pushed his fist upward and jumped in the air as all of his anger was channeled to his fist.

"SHOOOORYUUUKEEENNNNNNN!"

The two were in the air and the clone landed with a harsh thud. It screamed in agony and it vanished in the same way the beast had disappeared. Kazuki landed and he gasped for air. He calmed down a bit and looked exhausted. Heart and Kira ran to him.

"I'll be fine..."

"But-"

"I said I'll be fine..."

Heart and Kira looked on as Kazuki got up and walked away.

_Dammit... What the hell is Yuri up to...?_

Yuri put her phone away and she looked at one of the scientists behind her.

"Release it..."

"A-are you sure you want to do that?"

"JUST DO IT!"

The scientist walked to a computer and began to unlock a chamber. Something was released and

Yuri gave out a cold smile.

"We'll see if you want to come back, now..."

She laughed as whatever she sent began to rise onto the surface.


End file.
